(A) The City Clerk shall, upon accepting a filed application, send a copy of the application to the City Council and, if the application is accepted, a copy to the applicable assessor as well.
(B) No later than 30 days after an application has been accepted by the City Clerk, the Clerk shall place same on the agenda for the next regularly scheduled meeting of the City Council, or City Council may, at its discretion, call a special meeting to consider said application.
(C) Determination of Economic Revitalization Area.
(1) For applications for designation of an Economic Revitalization Area for the purpose of acquiring real property tax abatement and for personal property tax abatement on equipment, after review of the application, City Council may determine whether the proposed location shall be deemed an Economic Revitalization Area consistent with I.C. § 6-1.1-12.1-3(b) by making each of the following findings (and if so deemed an Economic Revitalization Area, City Council shall follow the procedure in I.C. § 6-1.1-12.1-2.5 and may exercise any options permitted under § 6-1.1-12.1-2(i):
(a) 1. For real property abatement, whether the estimate of the value of the redevelopment or rehabilitation is reasonable for projects of that nature; or
2. For personal property abatement, whether the estimate of cost of the new manufacturing equipment, new research and development equipment, new logistical distribution equipment, or new information technology equipment is reasonable for equipment of that type;
(b) Whether the estimate of the number of individuals who will be employed or whose employment will be retained can be reasonably expected to result from:
1. For real property abatement, the proposed described redevelopment or rehabilitation; or
2. For personal property abatement for personal property not used to dispose of solid waste or hazardous waste by converting same to energy or other useful products, the proposed installation of the new equipment;
(c) Whether the estimate of the annual salaries of those individuals who will be employed or whose employment will be retained can be reasonably expected to result from:
1. For real property abatement, the proposed described redevelopment or rehabilitation; or
2. For personal property abatement, the proposed installation of the new equipment;
(d) Whether any other benefits about which information was requested are benefits that can be reasonably expected to result from:
1. For real property abatement, the proposed described redevelopment or rehabilitation; or
2. For personal property abatement, the proposed installation of the new equipment;
(e) For personal property tax applications in which the new manufacturing equipment is to be used to dispose of solid waste or other hazardous materials by converting same to energy or other useful products only, whether the estimate of the amount of solid waste or hazardous waste that will be converted into energy or other useful products can be reasonably expected to result from the installation of the new manufacturing equipment.
(f) Whether the totality of benefits is sufficient to justify the deduction (that is, tax abatement).
(2) Exclusions: Designation of Economic Revitalization Areas will be disallowed in cases where:
(a) The applicant for designation, in seeking a real property tax abatement, is not an owner of the subject real property or is unable to produce a bona fide offer to purchase the subject real property contingent upon obtaining the Economic Revitalization Area designation (this exclusion does not apply to applicants seeking personal property tax abatement);
(b) On-site construction work has begun on real property or improvements thereon or thereto, except surveying, soil testing, topographic analysis, archeological excavation, water table testing, the drilling of wells, or environmental impact analysis;
(c) The application is incomplete or overly vague;
(d) The application is inconsistent with I.C. § 6-1.1-12.1;
(e) The proposed new manufacturing equipment, new research and development equipment, new logistical distribution equipment, or new information technology equipment has been installed;
(f) The City Council deems the tax abatement to give the applicant an unfair advantage over other local business(es) which were without the benefit of tax abatement or otherwise negatively impacts the local economy; or
(g) Any other activity has occurred which is deemed by the City Council to render the Economic Revitalization Area designation improper or unnecessary to the success of the project.
(3) The City Council may waive the exclusions set forth above when final action by the City Council on the application is delayed so as to create an economic hardship upon applicant.
(D) Determination of tax abatement.
(1) For applications which are for designation of an Economic Revitalization Area for the purpose of acquiring real property tax abatement, if the property is deemed to be an Economic Revitalization Area based on findings on the application, and not based on findings from any prior applications, then the applicant may be granted real property tax abatement.
(2) For applications for new manufacturing equipment, new research and development equipment, new logistical distribution equipment, or new information technology equipment for the purpose of getting property tax abatement, if the area is designated an Economic Revitalization Area based on findings on the application, and not based on findings from any prior applications, then the applicant may be granted personal property tax abatement.
(Ord. 11-2009, passed 5-12-09)